Parents and teachers offer support as schoolkids to protest over exams

Parents and teachers at state schools on Monday called for final year high school students to be excluded from the twice-yearly exams this year, as the students themselves are set to demonstrate on Tuesday.

In an announcement, public teachers’ union Oelmek expressed their support for the demand of the final year students to postpone the implementation of a decision providing for exams every four months.

Teachers said they have repeatedly raised the issue with the education minister without a response.

They added that political parties, apart from one, agree with the postponement of the implementation of the decision for final year high school and technical school students.

“The education minister could adopt the common position of students, teachers and parents to suspend this year’s twice-yearly final exams for the third year of high school and technical schools, relieving this year’s final grade students from the stressful process of three exams,” Oelmek said.

The first of the twice-yearly exams are scheduled to take place for the first time in January.

However, due to the epidemiological situation, a lot of students are in self-isolation who are either cases or close contacts, the Pancyprian confederation of parents’ association said in a separate statement.

Apart from the stress and pressure at school, final year students must also manage the uncertainty caused by the virus, while for the first time in their school career, they have experienced remote learning in the last two years, parents said, and called on the education ministry to reconsider the decision.

Parents gave the example of a Limassol technical school where the first five cases of Omicron variant were traced earlier this month and many students and school staff are still self-isolating.

They added they respect and support their children’s right to protest against the ministry’s decision.

The protest was announced in a social media post last week, calling all students to participate by gathering on Athalassa avenue at 10.30am to march to the presidential palace and demand the suspension of exams.